Wests Tigers determined to send Benji Marshall and Robbie Farah out in style
EMOTIONAL Wests Tigers players have vowed to send champion duo Benji Marshall and Robbie Farah out in style with a farewell finals series.
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WESTS Tigers players have vowed to send champion duo Benji Marshall and Robbie Farah out in style with a farewell finals series.
Following a four-and-a-half-year hiatus, Marshall and Farah have reunited at the Tigers to fittingly finish their illustrious careers together.
The pair guided the joint-venture club to its maiden premiership in 2005, now they have their sights set on one final playoff appearance before retiring.
Tigers utility Josh Reynolds says the players are determined to see Marshall and Farah play September football.
“It is definitely a driver for the boys,” Reynolds told The Saturday Telegraph.
“We haven’t said it, but everyone is probably thinking it.
“It is a pretty good story to have two of the greats return.
“They won the club’s first premiership together and now they have returned in the back end of their careers.
“It is a fairytale. It is so good to have both of them around the club because they know what it means to be a Wests Tiger.
“They are proud of it and it filters through to the boys.”
Halfback Luke Brooks certainly understands the influential power of Marshall and Farah.
Brooks made his debut in Marshall’s final season at the Tigers in 2013 before he departed for the Auckland Blues, St George Illawarra and Brisbane.
He has also previously played four seasons alongside Farah at the Tigers.
It’s why Brooks wants to win for the legendary Wests duo, starting with Sunday’s clash against the Gold Coast at Leichhardt Oval.
The Tigers are four points outside the top eight and must defeat the Titans to kick start their season.
“They (Marshall and Farah) have been great players for the club and it would be good to send them out with a finals series,” Brooks said.
“It starts with this weekend’s game against the Titans. We have the bye after that and all our energy has to go into the Gold Coast.”
Brooks says it hasn’t taken Farah long to settle back in at his beloved Tigers following his bitter departure in 2016.
He can’t wait to see the veteran hooker play at the club’s spiritual home, Leichhardt Oval, on Sunday.
“Robbie is a great player, so it is easy for him to slot in and pick up the plays,” he said.
“It is a bit weird. No one ever thought he’d have the opportunity to come back, a bit like Benji, but it’s good.
“It will be great to see him get that farewell he always wanted at the Tigers.
“He can leave on his terms the way he wanted.”
Brooks also expects the Tigers to greatly benefit from Moses Mbye’s arrival from Canterbury.
“Moses is a great player to pick up at the halfway mark of the season,” he said.
“Grub (Reynolds) has played with Moses and Robbie before, so it is not like it is unknown.
“We know each other’s games, so it is just working on the structures at training.
“We are gelling well and we are only going to get better.”
Originally published as Wests Tigers determined to send Benji Marshall and Robbie Farah out in style
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